Chevrolet Volt Outselling Corvette in 2012

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Chevrolet Volt Outselling Corvette in 2012

Images: General Motors

Chevrolet's plug-in hybrid sedan is in its first year of full production, and after six months of sales, the Volt has toppled the Chevy Corvette in the retail race.

So far in 2012, Chevy has offloaded 7,057 Volts, compared to the the Corvette's 5,547 sales. It deserves noting that the figures General Motors – Chevrolet's parent company – has released are for deliveries to dealers, and not vehicles parked in customer garages.

Still, the duality of the two vehicles sold under the same marque couldn't be more clear. Both the Corvette and Volt could be considered niche products – one a sports car, one a plug-in hybrid with a 40-mile range and absolutely no sporting pretenses.

There's also the price discrepancy – not that anyone is cross-shopping the two models. The Volt comes in at $39,995 before any state or federal incentives, while the Corvette starts at just over 50 large. And of course, the fuel economy of both models stands in stark contrast: The Volt gets a combined rating of 94 MPGe, while the 'Vette and its 6.2-liter V8 manages to eek out 16 MPG in the city and 26 MPG on the highway.

In 2011, Chevy managed to move some 13,596 Corvettes, and if Volt sales continue as expected, Chevrolet expects around 20,000 Volts sold by the end of this year.